Panel containing bamboo

Abstract

Disclosed is a wood panel comprising: a composite wood component having upper and lower surface layers and a core layer; and one or more bamboo layers, the one or more bamboo layers having a thickness of about about 0.0625 inches to about 0.5, attached to the upper surface layer of the wood composite.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION [0001] Panel Containing Bamboo BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Bamboo is a lignocellulosic material widely used throughout Asia as a structural material because of its high strength, durability and excellent dimensional stability. Given its widespread use and excellent performance, there is an existing desire to make structural panels out of bamboo. [0003] Presently, such bamboo structural panels are made by hand-cutting bamboo strips from the outer part or surface of a bamboo culm, and then weaving (again typically by hand) into mats. These hand-cut, hand-woven bamboo mats are then stacked together along with several other similar mats and the mats then pressed together under high temperature. [0004] The problem with this method of manufacture of the bamboo boards is that it is time consuming; the steps of cutting the bamboo strips and then weaving the bamboo strips into the form of a mat take a significant amount of time. And not only are these processes ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] The present invention includes a wood panel comprising: a composite wood component having upper and lower surface layers and a core layer; and one or more b

Problems solved by technology

The problem with this method of manufacture of the bamboo boards is that it is time consuming; the steps of cutting the bamboo strips and then weaving the bamboo strips into the form of a mat take a significant amount of time.

And not only are these processes time consuming, but they can lead to significant defects in the final board product.

For example, internal gaps created by the layering of several of the mats on top of another can result in the production of holes or other defects in the board that can lead to failure.

Additionally, bonding two woven bamboo mats together involves bonding together two mating surfaces, which is an additional source for defects.

Yet another disadvantage of the aforementioned processes is that because they are composed of large numbers of bamboo layers, they are require very high doses of resin per layer, which adds greatly to the price of the product during periods of high petroleum prices.